Death was on the Cards that Day
by Akanesi
Summary: The Doctor and Donna were always running. But would this time be different? Warning: character death.


Author's note: Sorry for all the Donna fans out there. I wrote this before the finale, so don't kill me. But do you get the "Turn Left" reference?

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The Doctor and Donna ran. They could hear the monsters hot on their heels. Hear the howls of animals that had known no love getting closer and closer. Mercy was not something that had been taught to these aliens. They had lived a bitter life. Alone and helpless on a desolate, remote world, where no human dared to set foot. They had descended into savagery. That was their only choice. They fought amongst themselves and whenever the group was hungry they would tear apart the weakest of their fellows.

The TARDIS had come here quite by chance. The system had malfunctioned, causing the Doctor to make an emergency landing on the nearest planet. They had landed approximately a mile from the animal homes but their scent had been on the air from the moment they stepped beyond the TARDIS doors. They were hunted and now they had been found.

It seemed to Donna that there was a solid wall of trees ahead, looming out at them, wanting to catch them unawares and hold them for the animals. The Doctor was holding her hand and although they were fleeing for their lives, she felt safe. He had that kind of reassuring feel about him. The one that said she should be calm even faced with death. So she ran on, forcing herself not to look back but focus on what was in front of her, not tripping over the tree roots that seemed to rise up into existence.

Suddenly the Doctor let go of her hand, shouting at her to go left and that he would go right. He said that they couldn't follow both of them and he had the stronger smell to hunt. Donna didn't want him to go. As soon as he had let go of her hand the severity of the situation had come crashing down upon her. She was being chased by ruthless creatures and they were intent on catching and eating her.

But she obeyed his command and ran left. There was nothing else she could do. If she stopped or tried to follow him they could both be caught. Her lungs were burning and she was feeling sick. Her head was spinning and her legs aching with every step she took.

The trees seemed to be thinning. Sun was just visible through the trees and there was a clearing up ahead. But she could still hear the howls and pants of her chasers. She saw that there was a building to the right side of the clearing. Hope flared to life in her stomach. If she could just get inside and somehow lock her pursuers out or she might find help inside. She ran forward ignoring the niggling doubt in the back of her mind that the Doctor had checked the scanners before opening the TARDIS doors and they had said that no life apart from the vegetation and the creatures resided here.

Inside the two main doors of the buildings she could see no control for closing them and she could see the first few creatures entering the clearing and heading straight for her. She turned and ran on. The corridors in the building twisted and turned, she felt like she was running through a maze, with no hope of escape, no option to just ask someone the way out.

Two large doors barred her way. She fell against them and tried to prise them open. There were no controls. She hammered on the doors, fear washing over her, into every particle of her being. She was trapped. A fox trapped in a cage ready for the slaughter with the hounds closing in.

They rounded the corner and she turned to face them. They paused and then continued towards her slowly as if knowing that she had no escape. She could see their glistening teeth, covered in saliva, smell the raw sweat that dripped off them to the ground, taste the hunger in their eyes and hear their growls of victory.

They marched closer, three huge, hairy beasts, filling the corridor from floor to ceiling, claws clacking over the surface, tongues hanging at an odd angle, panting after their exertion. There were more behind them fighting to be the first to get to her.

There were within a metre of her when they leapt. Jaws closed round her throat and she was dragged to the ground. Claws caught roughly in the seams of her clothing. Paws ran through her hair and the teeth snapped closed, ending it.

Death was on the cards that day.


End file.
